


Wordly Wonder

by Amethystawakening



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: AU where Martin is not adopted, Angst and Feels, Becoming a family, Falling In Love, Flashbacks, M/M, Mentions of Arkham, Mentions of Pregnacy, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Parent-Child Relationship, Plot Twists, Post-Season 2 AU, Revelations, Sexual Content, Tension, Trans Oswald Cobblepot, gentle apologies, mentions of abuse, s02e09
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:09:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethystawakening/pseuds/Amethystawakening
Summary: Oswald Cobblepot comes back to Gotham after 7 years with a steady business plan and a world of secrets.A season two AU where Oswald leaves Gotham after his first Arkham release, and consequentially also leaves all the memories he made with Ed.But there is always a chance for a new beginning, fueled by old feelings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Forever late for Nygmobblepot Week

 

I had been so long since they had seen each other. Ed could have counted the days, if he searched his mind enough.  
  
There were things that you didn't forget. 

Your first job, your first car, your first kiss, your first love, your first sexual experience, _the day Oswald Cobblepot left Gotham._  


It was a little embarrassing to think that a significant amount of those things, though they were not quite firsts, had been memories he had shared with Oswald. Was there such a thing as an epiphanic first? When an experience, thought it may not be your actual first, is so revolutionary that it changes your perception of the world? _An aftermath that surfaces from the ashes years into the future._  

 

This was something Oswald had most likely not lost sleep over. Because here he was, back in Gotham, fresh as the first blooming daisy at the beginning of spring. He looked so breathtaking. Dressed in a perfectly pressed double breasted Italian suit, Oswald was all business. His hair was flipped back elegantly, sporting a soft streak of purple that was perfectly coordinated to match his tie.  

 

A stark opposite of when he had left Ed. Or Ed had left him. It was honestly very difficult to remember. The image of that day was clear as polished glass but the memory, the emotions, were a muddled tangle of regrets and uncertainties.

 

He stared at Oswald for a whole three minutes. Watching him converse with the women beside him that must have been some sort of bookkeeper. It all seemed very diplomatic. Perhaps a business conversation. Ed wouldn’t have been surprised. Taking appearance into consideration, it seemed that Oswald had become very successful while they were apart. He held the same air of confidence, _control_ ,  that Ed had always admired. Second to no one, always on top.

 

Something teetered on he the edge of Ed’s conscience, buzzing like the wings of some infernal insect that you couldn’t get out of your house.

 

Maybe he should should approach Oswald, wave awkwardly and then go about his day with a gaping hole in his chest as all of the memories he had worked so hard to bury were torn from their grave.

 

No, he could easily just glance down at his newspaper and pretend like he never saw him. He could suffer in silence. He didn’t need to bring Oswald into this.

 

He did not have to. I seemed Oswald had noticed him. For a slow 30 seconds, their eyes locked. Ed felt himself hanging on the edge of his chair.

 

Oswald said something to the woman that accompanied him and excused himself from the coffee line.

 

“Edward? Edward Nygma?” He said as he approached, each step a little cautious as if he was afraid he was mistaken.

 

“Yes,” Ed nearly stuttered. “Oswald Cobblepot. It’s been quite a while.” Ed felt his heart stutter. He wasn’t remotely certain what was to transpire from this meeting. Awkward small talk? A snide comment? A black eye? He wouldn’t put any of those things past Oswald.

 

But what he got was overwhelmingly relieving.

 

Soft eyes and a tiny smile. “Indeed it has.” Oswald extended his hand to shake. “Hello old friend.”

 

Edward took his hand, his handshake lacking the firmness of a formal encounter. His nerves wouldn’t allow for anything reasonable. “You look well,Oswald.”

 

“Thank you, so do you.” Oswald’s slid his hands into his pockets, letting his eyes travel over Ed’s frame as if he was memorizing each detail.

 

Comparing, would more likely; Ed thought to himself. A lot of things could happen in seven years, surely time had changed the both of them.

 

“What brings you back to Gotham?” Ed asked casually, it seemed to be the natural flow of this type of conversation. Idle small talk with an underlying hint of genuine curiosity.

 

“I’m opening a club. It’s a little nostalgic to be back in Gotham.” Little creases formed in the corner Oswald’s eyes from the genuinity of the smile. “I was just going over a few impulsive details while grabbing a coffee.” He tilted his head toward the woman, who was now waiting patient for Oswald while holding two cardboard to-go cups. “It’s funny, I chose to step out myself instead of sending someone. Staying locked up in an office for hours on end is maddening. But here I am, discussing decor during my coffee break.” He laughed softly.

 

Ed felt his heart flutter.

 

“Work seems to follow me everywhere.” He shrugged, smile growing at an ever quickening pace.

 

Ed found himself smiling too, drunk on the tranquility of the moment, a strange source of warmth that he couldn't put his finger on

 

“So do you still work for the GCPD?” He heard Oswald ask. He wiped the goofy smile off of his face, still trying to remain pleasant despite the heat that threatening to rise to his cheeks.

 

“Ah no…” He said sheepishly, fiddling with the folded newspaper in his lap. “I’ve been banned...indefinitely. Or definitely, probably.”

 

Oswald’s eyebrows rose, some type of emotion slowly seeping into his green eyes. Pity? Concern? “Ed...Is everything all right?”

 

“Yes, yes!” Ed waved his hands frantically, not wanting to give Oswald the wrong idea. “It’s a long story, honestly. Ed smiled nervously, laughing it off.

 

Oswald’s smile resurfaced, still undeniably genuine in a way that filling Ed’s heart with a lingering sense of hope.

 

“One that I will get to hear, I hope?” Oswald asked him carefully, not trying to step on any toes.

 

“Of course, if you want to kill an hour.” Ed grinned back to him. This was definitely as far from what he imagined would ever happen if he ran into Oswald Cobblepot in a coffee shop.

 

“Let me give you my number.” Oswald reached into his pocket for his phone. “Scratch that, let me take yours. I’ll call you.”

 

Ed nodded, pulling his phone out as well.

 

They had plugged their numbers into each others phones and bid farewell.

 

From the moment that Ed left the once cozy coffee shop to the moment he climbed into his bed at night, his heart couldn’t stop racing. He wasn’t sure what this was, where it would go. Would it be a steady brook of pleasant memories and curved and winded around the reality of their unfortunate parting. Or would it be a soft renewing friendship, only to be torn to shreds when they faced the undeniable reality of their past together.

 

Regardless, it was a new journey that Ed had unintentionally stumbled into. Something he would have to force himself to face with an open mind and heart


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No hard feelings Jim Gordon. I'm a gobblepot girl. Ed & Oswald are just a little salty post-Arkham.

He wasn’t dressed for this. Not in the slightest. When Oswald said, “get a drink.” He imagined some casual, local bar in downtown. He should have known better.

 

But here he was, in a cardigan and a pair of khakis, sipping a martini next to Oswald Cobblepot at a rooftop bar overlooking a misty day in Gotham City.

 

“Jim Gordon, huh? Ever the loyal friend when it benefits him.” Oswald shook his head as grimace slowly forming on his face. “But he won’t blink an eye when he finds out that you’ve been locked in Arkham.”

 

It seems that the years had wisened Oswald, steering him away from his admiration for the so-called White Knight, Jim Gordon. If anything, Ed felt oddly refreshed by that knowledge.

 

“Jim wasn’t a true friend.” Ed wrinkled his nose in distaste. “He just pitied me. If it wasn’t for Lee Thompkins he probably wouldn’t have spared me a second glance outside of work.” He shrugged, letting his bitterness drift away in the afternoon breeze. He was here to reconnect with Oswald, not to get lost in the triviality of the past. “I don’t have to bother working with him anymore.”

 

“Small blessings.” Oswald smiled at him and rose his martini to his lips. There was a short silence between them. Oswald’s eyes were glazed in thought. He glanced back at Ed, a bit of sadness lingering behind his heavy gaze. “I wish I could have been there for you. While you were in Arkham.”

 

Ed tore his gaze away anxiously. “No Oswald, you didn’t owe me that.”

 

Oswald’s voice was soft. Gentle as the mist of a morning rain. “It doesn’t matter. We were friends, weren't we? Friends support each other.”

 

Ed felt his stomach twist and tie into a series of impossible knots. He closed his eyes and tried to remember. “We were friends.” He murmured back. _Friends? Was that all?_

 

“I can’t say what I would have done.” Oswald spoke softly, ever patient and kind during this fragile moment. “But I’d like to think, if I was here in Gotham, I would have been there for you.”

 

“I have no doubt.” Ed finally met Oswald’s gaze again. _He only wished that he could have said the same._

He whisked away his sad smile for something more lighthearted. “That’s in the past now. Maybe we can start over? As friends?”

 

Oswald’s careful smile blossomed into a fond grin. “Yes, I’d like that.” He rose his glass merrily. “Cheers to friendship.”

 

Ed rose his glass to Oswald’s with a little clink. “Cheers to friendship.”

He drew his eyes from his friend’s smiling face to peer down from the balcony. “Do you get this amazing view, in Star City?” Ed didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice as they looked over the smoggy skyline. They were in sore need of a lighthearted change of subject, after digging into such heavy memories.

 

“No.” Oswald’s eyes glittered with admiration. The soft echo of his voice as sincere as could be. “I’ve missed the view in Gotham.”

 

Ed found it impossible to tear his gaze from those twinkling eyes. The unfiltered bliss in Oswald’s smile made him feel at home. A feeling that had seemed foreign for the last seven years.

 

“It’s my home after all.” Oswald turned to look Ed in the eye. The warmth from his adoring gaze filling Ed’s entire being. “And I’ve missed it dearly.”

 

_And I’ve missed you._

 

Oswald glanced down at his watch and was taken in a panic. “Oh my goodness!”

 

Ed nearly jumped at the raise of Oswald’s voice. “What is it?”

 

Oswald glanced up from the watch, his brows furrowed. “Oh, sorry. I lost track of time. I have to go.”

Ed felt a small pang of sadness in his chest. Their time together seemed to have gone by too quickly. “A pressing business meeting?”

 

Oswald shook his head, a little smile rising to his lips. “No, I have to pick up my son.”

 

Ed’s eyes widened immediately. “Your son?” What a curiously troubling detail.

 

“Yes, My son, Martin. Hopefully you will have a chance to meet him soon. I know he’d like you.”

 

“Opening a new business, planning an event, and picking up your son.” Ed exclaimed playfully. “You must be the super-father!”

 

“Well, I’m the only father. So, it’s a difficult balance.”

 

Ed felt a rush of relief run over him, follow by an instant stab of guilt. He knew that he shouldn’t have felt a sense of bliss in the fact that Oswald had to raise a child on his own. Still, it was a great comfort to know that there was no one else in his life.

 

“You always did have a talent for balancing many things.” Ed grinned at Oswald, heart whole as he tried to paint a picture of him in his mind before they parted. “I'm sure that carries over into fatherhood.”

 

Oswald's brow wrinkled softly. His lips curled into a little uncertain smile, something that seems so foreign on the former King of Gotham's face. “I hope so.”

 

“Well, I hope I will get the chance to meet the little guy.” Ed smiled softly. He tried to still his fidgeting hands. He wasn't ready to end this tranquil moment. His heart felt full and his body warm. It had been a long time since he had a true friend.

 

“Soon my friend.” Oswald nodded to him while rising from the chair. “Now, I really must go. But…” Oswald looked at him hopefully, his lips still curled up at the ends. “I hope we can see each other again soon?”

 

“Yes of course!” Ed rose hastily and shook Oswald's hand sloppily. A nervous tremor ran through his system. A sinking fear that this goodbye would be much like their last one. But it wasn't. The last time they parted hadn't felt nearly as light-hearted. _Warm and comforting._

 

Things were different. They both could feel it.

 

“Goodbye, old friend” Oswald's voice echoed in his ears as he walked away. Looping Ed’s his mind for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

 

_How many people knew the exact moment they met someone who had changed their life?_

 

“Can I help you?” The cool mask of indifference was not enough to hide the slight glint of irritation in the man’s eyes.

 

But Ed wasn’t disheartened. A man of such status had to be wary, it was common sense.

“I don’t think so” Ed answered merrily. He was close enough to catch the scent of Oswald’s cologne. A cleverly enticing mix of sweet and spicy. “Can you?”

 

_Ed had known. He could feel it, something otherworldly. He knew this was a pivotal moment, but to what caliber? That, he was uncertain. All he knew, was that Oswald Cobblepot was larger than life. And that in itself, was enough to alter his timeline._

 

A sickeningly pleasant smile curled a the corner’s of Oswald’s lips. A small laughed hummed from his closed lips. “What do you want?”

 

Ed smiled back, unbeknownst to the strings the universe was pulling around them. How simple he was then. How unexposed. “What I want; the poor have, the rich need, and if you eat it you’ll die.”

 

Oswald shook his head slightly. His eyes narrowing, smile slipping out of place.

“Is this-? Are you asking me a riddle?”

 

“Do you like riddles?” Ed’s eyes twinkled hopefully as he stood before the man. This idol. The Penguin in the flesh.

 

Oswald shook his head quickly. “No.”

 

Ed’s tiny smile lingered in place. “So, do you give up?”

 

Oswald’s faux smile sunk into place. “Friend look-“

 

“Nothing!” Ed blurted out.

This was far from nothing. From the energy at work between them, to the hum of Oswald’s voice in Ed’s mind.

 

Even long after the Mobster had rudely dismissed him, Ed could catch the scent of his cologne.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a delicate dance, of phone tag, short conversations, simple texts, catching up over coffee. It seemed that he and Oswald had been tiptoeing around each other cautiously in the face of their reunion. The endearingly, innocent, budding friendship that the two of them were not privileged with the first time around.

 

Maybe this is what they needed. A chance to start fresh. To establish just who they were to each other. No lingering thoughts. No empty questions.

 

But looking back on it all, Ed would not have had it any other way.

 

* * *

 

 

Ed’s eyes fluttered open slowly. He could see the world around him fading into view. All was a blur aside from the blissful face of the sleeping man beside him. He scooted closer and brushed Oswald’s bangs from his forehead so that he could leave a soft peck upon the man’s smooth brow.

Oswald stirred against him. The leg that was draped over Ed’s thigh slithered back only slightly. Ed gently ran his fingers over Oswald’s calf, where his pajama pants had ridden up. He felt Oswald squirm against him.

 

Ed ran his fingers over Oswald’s freckled cheek, admiring the little constellations across his skin as he moved his finger lower. His eyes darted from Oswald’s tousled hair, pressed messily against the pillow, to his parted lips and long sloping lashes.

What a beautiful sight, a lovely prize Ed was granted each and every morning for the past week. He let his finger zig zag along Oswald’s jaw and trace a slow trail along his neck. Ed could feel Oswald quiver slightly beneath the light touch.

 

Black lashes finally fluttered open, gracing Ed with a pair of beautiful sleepy green eyes.

 

He couldn’t wipe the goofy smile off of his face as he watched Oswald yawn, followed by a series of sleepy blinks and the rub of his eyes.

“What time is it?” Oswald whispered, his voice raspy from waking.

 

“Six thirty,” Ed murmured back.

 

Oswald groaned into the pillow. “Too early.” He mumbled half into the pillow, tucking his face back into the comforting warmth and squeezing his eyes shut.

 

“You don’t have to wake up.” Ed assured him with a gentle whisper while running his fingers through his hair.

 

Oswald sighed contently, letting his body sink back into the mattress.

 

“But I should get up, soon.” Ed whispered into Oswald’s hair and left a kiss atop his head.

 

Oswald groaned again, lifting his head from the pillow a little so Ed could look into one sleepy green eye. “Stay. It’s your day off, it’s not like you have to go anywhere.” A little sliver of a coy smile curled at the end of Oswald’s lips. It set a cluster of butterflies free to bat their wings along the inside of Ed’s stomach.

 

He watched Oswald move closer. He winced a little bit as he moved and Ed felt a pang in his heart. “I can stay in bed a little longer. Oswald, please, don’t move. You’ll put unnecessary stress on your wound.”

 

“I’m fine.” Oswald mumbled. Their lips barely brushing against each other.

 

Ed’s eyes fluttered close as he felt the soft brush of Oswald’s lips on his. He scooted closer so he could press his body flush against Oswald’s and meld their lips together.

 

The kiss was slow, languid and their tongues danced slowly with another, stroking leisurely and swirling around each other.

 

Warmth radiated between them, clothed thighs brushing against each other. Ed groaned into Oswald's lips when the smaller man's thigh brushed unintentionally against his bulge.

 

Oswald captured Ed's tongue, sucking slowly. His thigh was now rubbing, quite intentionally, against Ed's erection.

 

Ed groaned softly as they finally broke away. He felt Oswald palm his cock through his pajamas. His hips rolled up against his will; breath stuttering from the delicate touch.

 

“Did you dream of me?” Oswald's husky voice echoed softly in his ear.

Ed wasn't sure when he closed his eyes. His hips rolled up fluidly. His body and mind swept up in the warm touch. The delicious friction of Oswald's palm moving up and down the expanse of his clothed length.

 

“To think, you wanted to get out of bed. Tsk. tsk.”

Oswald hummed against his ear. His fingers dipped beneath the waistband of Ed's pants.

“You wouldn't have had as much fun by yourself.” Oswald chided.

Ed felt warm fingers wrap around his cock, stroking slowly. He whined through his teeth. His lower lip trembled as he tried to stifle the filthy sounds gushing forward from the back of his throat.

His voice broke into a low moan when Oswald brushed a thumb over the head. “Oswald please.” Ed hissed, despite himself. Falling to the whim of those talented fingers. The curious thumb gently rubbed circles over a certain spot that made Ed's eyes rollback.

 

His back arched and his eyes flew open.

 

And it was just him alone, in a dim lit room.

 

No warm body beside him. No gentle, teasing touch.

 

He could almost smell the scent of Oswald's hair and feel the warm spot where he had laid beside him. _Relive the memory._

 

But that was another life.

 

Another apartment.

 

Ed fell back against the pillow, one arm draped across his forehead as he tried to drain the thoughts from his brain.

 

He couldn't drown the image of Oswald's coy little smile. Something twisted in the pit of his stomach.

 

He slipped his hand beneath the fabric of his boxers and coiled his long fingers around his firm cock.

 

This would be a long night.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re invited.”

 

“Hmm?” Ed caught himself staring at the perfect curve of Oswald’s lips. He wondered if Oswald remembered how his lips tasted. Because Ed certainly remembered the taste of his. The way they laid against his perfectly. The way Oswald’s soft bottom lip fit between his teeth nicely. The soft texture. Bless this man’s excessive use of chapstick, that came fairly close to the frequency of his mascara application.

 

_Oswald Cobblepot was a heavenly creature._

“To the opening night of my club. You’re invited.” Oswald grinned at him while poking his fork into his half-eaten salad.

 

_Gotham had been so glum without him._

 

 

Ed had barely even touched his sandwich over the whirlwind of his distracted mind and the lulling soundtrack of Oswald’s voice. “Thank you, I will make sure to take off from work.” He noticed a tiny splatter of blood on the cuff of Oswald’s jacket, a pleasant reminder that certain things had not changed.

 

The joyous twinkle in Oswald’s eye felt like a strange sense of Déjà vu. Like they had been here before, in another home. In another life. But that image was just a fabrication. Maybe a pleasant dream. Unlike the memories that had been haunting Ed’s sleepless nights. A delectable torture, filling his senses. Making him feel delightfully whole, only to fill him with yearning when he woke.

 

Those memories. Had Oswald remembered anything? Or had his brain been so thoroughly fried in Arkham that he had left without a trace of their intimate affair.

 

Left with the notion that they were merely friends all of those years ago.

 

“Marvelous!” Oswald mused, his face glowing like a thrumming hearth. “I’ll send you a proper invitation when things are finalized.”

 

“I’ll keep a look out for it.” Ed felt his mouth go dry. That smile woke something in the pit of his stomach that warmed the rest of his body. He took ahold of his neglected sandwich and took a bite, making a great attempt to look as calm as possible.

 

Oswald lips twitched, teetering on the edge of a word. “I wanted to invite you before anyone else. You were my first real friend in Gotham, after all.” His tone was a bit softer than before. The glimmer in his eyes winding down to a gentle glow.

 

Ed felt his heart stuttered. He steadied his shaking hands as he placed the sandwich back on his plate.

 

Suddenly there was no one else in the little café. No one but him and Oswald.

 

“Oswald…” Ed fidgeted with his napkin. He looked down for a moment then slowly raised his eyes to meet soothing green eyes. “I don’t know what to say. I’m flattered.”

 

Oswald’s smile had resurfaced, all of the sun’s warmth tied into a perfect little package. “Say you’ll come?”

 

Ed nodded slowly.

 

Maybe being friends wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.

 

Maybe this was a twist of fate. A new beginning.

 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took forever guys! :')  
> I'm going to try to update quicker this time.  
> Let me know your thoughts.


End file.
